Born and raised in New Orleans, Tyler Perry, one of four children, has come a long way from his childhood of poverty and physical abuse; a life he says was very depressing.
"I was unhappy and miserable during the first 28 years of my life, the things that I went through as a kid were horrendous. And I carried that into my adult life. I didn't have a catharsis for my childhood pain, most of us don't, and until I learned how to forgive those people and let it go, I was unhappy."
A fascinating secret to his success originated when he was watching the Oprah show and she was talking about how cathartic it was to write things down. Concerning this Perry said:
" ... so I started writing down the stuff that was happening to me. I started using different characters' names, because if someone had found my journal, I didn't want them to know I had been through that kind of stuff. That's how my first play [I Know I've Been Changed] started, which features a character who confronts an abuser, forgives him and moves on."
It was his writing in the journal that launched his career as a playwright.
Everything for Perry wasn't easy though. He was able to save up $12,000 and put it all into renting out a theater where he pretty much created a one-man show; having written, directed, marketed and starring in it. It was a huge failure. Over the entire weekend, only 30 people came to watch it.
While saying he was angry and bitter, especially at God, he didn't give up. He held a stream of jobs so that he could continue to finance the show. At this time he would be homeless at times because he couldn't pay the rent. Most people were trying to get him to get a regular job at that time; inluding his mother.
He finally decided, in the summer of 1998, that he would finance the production one last time, if it didn't work out, it would be the last attempt.
The production, which was called "I Know I've Been Changed," started at the House of Blues in Atlanta and sold out eight times. Shortly after that it was moved to the Fox Theater which sold out another 9,000 seats. Perry was on his way.
Other posts with Tyler Perry in them:
Tyler Perry's Inspirational Success Story
Which Hollywood actor gets the best return on investment? It's not who you think!
Tyler Perry seems to be following in the footsteps of Spike Lee and may even surpass him in the near future. The only thing I grumble about him is that he seems to be focusing solely on the negative stereotype of African American family, particularly the women and ignoring the positive aspects.
Posted by: secret33.com (On Tyler Perry) | September 10, 2007 11:44 PM | Permalink to Comment